Best Movie Genres The Best Animated Films Ever

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List Rules The Best Animated and CGI Movies

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The best animated movies of all time are an assortment of animated movies that rank among the best movies ever made. While the characters might be brightly colored and possess abilities most real people could only wish to ever have, the stories and imagery speak to everyone and have set these movies up to become the best animated films ever.

Far from simply being movie versions of cartoons, these are movies with some of the best characters, most compelling stories, and some of the overall most memorable movies in the history of cinema. With great animated movies, the sky's the limit (literally, for characters in movies like The Incredibles and WALL-E) for the story being told. Many of these top animated and cartoon movies are comedies with a message (like Toy Story) while others are heartbreaking dramas (like The Lion King). There's no story that can't be told through these amazing animated films.

What are the best animated movies ever? What makes one animated film better than another? What is the greatest animated film? There are many varied answers to what makes good animated movies (story, characters, animation style), but there's no question that these are some of the best animated movies ever made. If you don't see your favorite animated movie on the list, make sure to add it to the list of the greatest animated films so that it might become someone else's favorite animated film someday.

Not all animated films are for kids, but if you are looking for some more animated and live-action kid friendly fare, check out the best movies for children.

list ordered by

1

8,739 7,361

The Lion King1994 The Lion King is a 1994 American animated musical epic film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is the 32nd animated feature in the Walt Disney ...more

2

6,646 6,940

Toy Story1995 Toy Story is a 1995 American computer-animated buddy-comedy adventure film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Directed by John Lasseter, Toy Story was the ...more

3

6,358 6,685

Finding Nemo2003 Finding Nemo is a 2003 American computer-animated comedy-drama adventure film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Written and directed by Andrew Stanton, it ...more

4

6,646 6,548

The Incredibles2004 The Incredibles is a 2004 American computer-animated comedy superhero film written and directed by Brad Bird and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It was the sixth film produced by Pixar ...more

5

8,734 5,322

Despicable Me2010 Despicable Me is a 2010 American 3D computer-animated comedy film directed by Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud. When a mastermind (Steve Carell) uses a trio of orphan girls as pawns for a grand ...more

6

6,523 6,521

Up2009 Up is a 2009 American 3D computer-animated adventure comedy-drama film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Directed by Pete Docter, the film centers on an ...more

7

5,502 6,439

Aladdin1992 Aladdin is a 1992 American animated musical fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Aladdin is the 31st animated feature in the Walt Disney ...more

8

5,704 5,911

Monsters, Inc.2001 Monsters, Inc. is a 2001 American computer-animated comedy film directed by Pete Docter, produced by Pixar Animation Studios, and released by Walt Disney Pictures. John Lasseter and Andrew ...more

9

5,661 6,736

WALL-E2008 WALL-E is a 2008 American computer-animated science-fiction comedy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Directed by Andrew Stanton, the story follows a ...more

10

5,105 6,413

Shrek2001 Shrek is a 2001 American computer-animated fantasy-comedy film produced by PDI/DreamWorks, released by DreamWorks Pictures, directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson, featuring the voices of ...more

11

4,837 6,003

Beauty and the Beast1991 Beauty and the Beast is a 1991 American animated musical romantic fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The 30th film in the Walt Disney ...more

12

4,976 6,740

Spirited Away2001 Spirited Away is a 2001 Japanese animated fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki and produced by Studio Ghibli. The film stars Rumi Hiiragi, Miyu Irino, Mari Natsuki, Takeshi Naito, ...more

13

4,782 5,970

Ratatouille2007 Ratatouille is a 2007 American computer-animated comedy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is the eighth film produced by Pixar, and was co-written ...more

14

3,834 5,952

Toy Story 32010 Toy Story 3 is a 2010 American 3D computer-animated comedy film, and the third film in the Toy Story series. It was produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. ...more

15

5,138 5,908

How to Train Your Dragon2010 How to Train Your Dragon is a 2010 American 3D computer-animated action-fantasy film by DreamWorks Animation loosely based on the British book series of the same name by Cressida Cowell. The ...more

16

4,066 4,460

Tangled2010 Tangled is a 2010 American computer animated musical fantasy-comedy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Loosely based on the German fairy tale ...more

17

3,161 3,040

JuanGabrielGomezAlvarado added Inside Out2015 Inside Out is a 2015 American 3D computer-animated comedy-drama film directed by Pete Docter. In the mind of a young girl, five personified emotions - Joy (Amy Poehler), Sadness (Phyllis Smith), ...more

18

3,718 5,748

Ice Age2002 Ice Age is a 2002 American computer-animated comedy adventure film directed by Carlos Saldanha and Chris Wedge from a story by Michael J. Wilson. It was produced by Blue Sky Studios and ...more

19

4,517 4,946

Mulan1998 Mulan is a 1998 American animated musical action-comedy-drama film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation based on the Chinese legend of Hua Mulan. The 36th animated feature in the Walt ...more

20

3,212 5,166

Toy Story 21999 Toy Story 2 is a 1999 American computer-animated comedy adventure film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Directed by John Lasseter and co-directed by Lee ...more

21

3,881 4,774

The Little Mermaid1989 The Little Mermaid is a 1989 American animated musical fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Based on the Danish fairy tale by Hans ...more

22

2,598 3,069

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs1937 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is a 1937 American animated musical fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures. Based on the German fairy tale by the ...more

23

2,480 2,565

Madagascar2005 Madagascar is a 2005 American computer-animated comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation, and released in movie theaters on May 27, 2005. The film tells the story of four Central Park Zoo ...more

24

3,677 2,933

Freak_Show1 added Lady and the Tramp1955 Lady and the Tramp is a 1955 American animated romantic musical comedy film produced by Walt Disney and released to theaters on 22 June 1955, by Buena Vista Distribution. The 15th film in the ...more

25

2,062 1,676

Shrek 22004 Shrek 2 is a 2004 American computer-animated fantasy comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation and directed by Andrew Adamson, Kelly Asbury and Conrad Vernon. It is the second installment in ...more